Ice cube tray



L. L. MALLARD ICE CUBE TRAY Nov. 28, 1950 Filed April 27, 1938 Loam/L MALLAQD .QQMA

Patented Nov. 28, 1950 LoganL. Mallard; Norfolk, Va.,;assignon'of'oneihalf to. H. :Glayi H'ofheimer II, Norfolk; Va.

Application AprilZ'Z; 1938,,SerialNo. 204,646

6- Claims.

This invention relates to ice cubeytrays forrefrigerators.

Asis-well known, mechanical refrigeratorsare furnished with two or more ice cubetrays-"receivable inthe refrigeratin hnits to-provide' ice" cubes for various uses; These ice cube trays usually are'formed'entirely of metal or of rubber and while the latter areadvantageous inv that. they permit the ready removal'of' the cubes'from'the" tray; they are disadvantageous in that they require a Substantially greater timefor the freezing of the cubes. While the conventional all-metal tray is advantageous in that it permits. fasterfreezing due to the more rapid rateof heat transfer; it'is disadvantageous for the reason that. much of the eilective cold is lost by the necessityfor runningwater over the bottom of'the tray, or immersing the tray in water, in order that thecubes may be released.

An important object of the present invention: is to provide a novel metal ice cube tray which. is operative to permit the quick releasing o f'the' cubes 'from the tray.

A further object is'to provide-a novel single operating. handle and mechanical connections operated thereby for simultaneously releasing all ofthe cubes fromthe trayand the grid'struc ture arranged .therein;

A further object] is to provide a novel grid structure and :operating vmeans therefor whereby the gridstructure is readily movable relative to the, tray to release the ice cubes from the latter. andwherein the elements of-jthe grid structure aremovable away from each other to facilitate therelease of the ice cubes from the gridstruce ture.

A} further object is. to. provide a l device .of "this. character having positive means for separating or. ejecting theice cubes from the grid. structure after separating the cubesfrom .the .tray.

A. further object is to provide anovelcam and lever mechanism .for an .ice cube tray which .has asingle operating .handle initially movable. with.

- substantially great leverage to initially break, the

ioe..cub'es loose from. the tray, andsubsequently movable with a lesser leverage to separate the. ice cubes from the gridstruc-ture.

A .furtherobject is to. provide a novel structure. of thecharacter referred to wherein the..0pera-. tion. ofnther single leverbreaks the ice .cubesloose. fromithetray and subsequently from-the grid. structure tov loosely. deposit all of the .cubes-in.ithe tray ;to be subsequently individually handled as .desiredr Other objects and advantages of the invention 2 will become apparent during" the courseof the followingdescription'.

In the drawing'I h'ave'sh'own two embodiments of the invention: Intliis 'showing".

Fi ure l. is a perspective view showing all'of the parts .in normal position;

Figure 2 isa central vertical longitudinal'sec Figure. 4 .is a tiansversewertical sectional view substantially on line 4"4 of'Figure '1,

Figure 5, is a detail perspective" view of'a pair of the cube ej ecting' elements, and;

Figure 6 is a detailfperspective viewpf a 'mo'dified' formiof cub'e ejecting'deviceanditgassoeciated transverse gridtelement'.

Referring to the drawing; the numeral I O'des-' ignates'an individualice-cube trayliaving a bot-'-' tom I'l; .end walls' [2 and sidewalls 13', the end and sidewalls preferably divergingupwardlyas shown; Theicetray formsn'opart of thepres entiinvention pjerise and'may befof'any'desired form: 1

A grid structure-is arranged within thetray' and comprises a plurality of individually miegral transverse: members l4 and a plurality of separate-aligned 'lon-gitudinal members [5": Each" of the transverse members -I4-is' provided 'with-an' opening 16 at a'point spaced' fromthe-upper edge of the member and centrally of the wiidtli' of" the: tray; for a purpose" to'=be" described; The?" transverse members i 4, when in the'normal posi-'--- tionshown in Figure 3, preferably slightly divergetoward'the bottom of "the tray.

Each adjacent pair-"0f longitudinal grid-mem bers I5 is provided with a" combined connecting and ejecting unit H, and each of these unitscom prises a pair of identical "plates 4 8 adapted "to-lie against opposite faces of" the associated longie tudinal members I51" Eachplate I8 is provided" with ahead". endjlil, the uppered-ge of which is" normally flush with the upper edgeofitheassoe ciated member. l5. One end of the. head lficf" each of the plates H l 8 is approximately squared? 01f as. at 26 to provide anedgelying againstpr" inclose proximityto the adjacent iacefof the as sociated 1 grid member l4. The opposite end. of each headLlQ'is provided with a sloping edge, Zfl= fora purpose to be described."

Eachrplate l81is. provided withla reducedendi 2 2 and Lthe reduced ends. of l each. pair of "plates l8 extend through one of the openings l6, as

shown in Figure 3. The ends 22 of each pair of plates are riveted or similarly secured as at 23 against opposite faces of one of the members IS. The head ends of each pair of plates l8 are pivotally connected by a pin 24 to the adjacent grid member IS, the heads of the pins 2 3 preferably being countersunk and flush with the outer faces of the plates l8. Above the projecting end 22 of each pair of plates I8 is a filler plate 25 extending from the upper edge of the associated end 22 to the top of the associated member and having its upper edge flush with the latter. The ends of the extensions 22 and the corresponding ends of the filler plates 25 are sloped as at 26 to form a continuous edge lying against the edge 2| of the next adjacent plate IS. The filler plates 25 are employed to prevent ice from froming above the extensions 22 and thus rendering it difiicult to remove the ice cubes, as will become apparent.

Each of the grid members l5 adjacent the ends of the tray is provided with an upwardly extending portion 21' and bell crank levers 28 and 29 ar pivotally connected to the respective projections 21 as at 30. Each bell crank lever is formed of a pair of plates arranged on opposite sides of the projections 27 as shown in Figure l for the purpose of providing additional strength and properl distributing the forces involved in the operation of the device, but each pair of plates may be considered, in effect, to be a single bell crank lever. The levers 28 and 29 are respectively provided with oppositely extending arms 31 normally everhanging the upper edges of the ends of the tray as shown in Figure 1.

The other arm 32 of each bell crank lever normally projects downwardly for connectionwith operating means to be described. The opposite plates of each bell crank lever have the depending arms thereof connected by a pin 33 operating in a slot 34 in the respective projection 27. These pins have pivotal connection with the arms of yokes 35 carried by the remote ends of respectivel front and end lengths 36 and 31. The inner end of the link 31 is pivotally connected as at 38 to a pair of spaced side plates 39, the adjacent end of the link 31 lying between these plates as shown in Figure 1.

The inner end of the link 35 also lies between the plates 39 and is provided with a pin 49 extending through slots 4| formed in the plates 39. An operating lever 42, preferably of elongated U-shaped has the sides thereof normally lying parallel and in close proximity to the edges of the link 31, and the lever 42 is pivotally connected near its operating end on the pin 38. A pair of spaced operating links 43 are pivotally connected at their ends respectively to the pin 40 and to pins 44 connected to the respective ends of the arms of the lever 42. The distance between the pins 38 and M is preferably substantially shorter than the distance between the pin 38 and the pin 40, when the latter is at the inner end of the slots 4|, for a purpose to be described.

A slightly modified form of the invention is shown in Figure 6 of the drawings, such form permitting the plates 18 and the filler plates 25 to be made integral. In the form of the invention previously described, the openings H; are stamped through the solid sheets forming the plates l4. In the form shown in Figure 6 the transverse grid plates M are provided with similar openings 45, but the upper edge of the plate 14 is cut from the top of the plate It to the opening 45 as at 46. The plate is also cut parallel to its upper edge as at 15 to form a lip 46' for a purpose to be described.

The connecting and ice ejecting means in Figure 6 comprises a pair of side plates 41, each of which is slotted in its upper edge as at 48 to receive the portion of the corresponding plate I4 which projects inwardly toward the cut 46. When so formed, each plate d1 corresponds in shapeto one of the plates [8 and its associated filler plate 25. Opposite ends of the plates 41 are sloped as at 49 and 50, each slope 50 being normally arranged in contact with the slope 49 of the next adjacent plate 41.

The operation of the form of the device shown in Figures 1 to 5 inclusive is as follows:

The tray is filled with water to the proper level, slightly below the upper edge of the tray, and the tray is placed in the refrigerator with all of the parts in the position shown in Figure 1. After the water has frozen into the pieces defined by the pockets in the tray between the grid elements and it is desired to release the cubes, the tray is removed from the refrigerator and preferably placed on a suitable supporting surface. The free end of the operating lever 12 is then lifted and since the pivots 38 and 44 are relatively close together while these pivots and the pivot 40 are arranged in a common plane, it will be apparent that initial movement of the free end of the lever 42 provides very great leverage exerting an inward pull on the links 36 and 31. This initial leverage permits the turning of the bell crank levers 28 and 29 without the exercise of substantial force on the lever 42.

It will be apparent that the bell crank lever 28 turns in a counter-clockwise direction while the bell crank lever 29 turns in a clockwise direction, and accordingly the outstanding arms 3| of the bell crank levers exert a great downward force on the upper edges of the ends of the tray. The accompanying upward reaction transmitted to the projection 21 causes the ends of the grid structure to move upwardly, thus breaking the ice cubes at the end of the tray away from the bottom of the tray.

It will be apparent that the continued turning movement of the lever 42 from its initial position increases the angular relation between the front end of the lever 44 and the link 43, thus progressively reducing the effective leverage. However, by the time this leverage is materially reduced all of the ice cubes will have been broken loose from the tray. After the pin 49 reaches the inner ends of the slots 4! the links 43 cease to turn with respect to the lever 42 and the latter transmits direct motion to the plates 39 to move the pivot pin 38 toward the left and the pivot pin 49 toward the right. When the pin 40 reaches the inner ends of the slots 4!, the bell crank lever pins 33 reach the inner ends of their slots 38 and accordingly the bell crank levers cease to turn about their pivots 30. Therefore it will be apparent that the turning movement of the lever 42 beyond the point at which the pin 40 initially engages the inner ends of the slots 4i transmits a direct pull to the upwardly projecting portions 21' of the end grid members 15. Such turning movement of the lever 42 therefore causes the adjacent grid sections to turn about their pivot pins 44, as shown in Figure 2, thus causing the portions of the grid members 14 below the pivots 24 to swing away from each other to tend to disconnect the ice cubes from the plates I 4.

It will be apparent that the head ends [9 of the plates l8 extend a substantial distance bemad and below the respective pivot points 24:

Asshown in Figure 2, therefore, such portions oi the. plates l8 move downwardly with respect. to the; extended ends 22 of the next adjacent plate l8 and accordingly act as ejiectors by positively.

breaking the ice cubes loose from the longitudinal grid members l5, This downward forcing of the. ice cubes obviously will break them loose from any adhesion to any other parts of the device, such as the projections 22 of the filler plates"25-. The head ends of the plates [8 at the left hand side of the apparatus as viewed in Figure 3- perform the same result with respect to the adjacent ice cubes. While no ejector element is-employed inthe right hand end of the tray, as viewed in Figure 3, the motion of the yoke 35, upon swinging movement of the bell crank lever 29 will accomplish the same result. Accordingly it will be apparent that all of the ice cubes, upon one complete swinging movement of the lever 42 to the position shown in Figure 2, will be completely disengaged from the tray and'from the grid struc ture, thus depositing them loosely in the tray for individual use.

The form of the invention shown in Figure 6 does not'aifect the operation described but'm'erely provides an alternative arrangement whereby the means connecting the adjacent plates l and acting as cube ejectors may be made in unitary plates instead of in separate plates 18 and 25. The projections 22 are formed on the plates ['8 for insertion through the openings t6 whereupon the filler plates are riveted or otherwise secured to the grid members [5. In the form of the invention shown in Figure 6, the plates 41 maybe inserted into the opening 45 of each plate It by turning aside the lip 46 whereupon such lip may be bent back in any suitable manner into the slots 48.

It will be noted that there is some slight play provided between the opposite surfaces of each plate l4 and the adjacent inner edges ofthe head I9 and filler plate 25 (or between the opposite edges of the notches 48 in Figure 6) and there is also some play provided between such portions of the plate [4 and the adjacent edges of the adjacent grid sections IE to permit the latter, above the pivots 24, to swing toward each other to permit the parts to assume the position shown in Figure 2. Accordingly when such position of the device is reached, the plates 14 will approximately bisect the angles between the adjacent edges of the adjacent plates l5.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that the present device provides novel and highly effective means for quickly disconnecting all of the ice cubes from a freezing tray to permit them to be individually used or stored for future use. The cubes are loosely dropped into the tray by a single swinging movement of the lever 42 from the position shown in Figure 1 to the position shown in Figure 2, and an initial very great leverage is provided when it is most greatly needed, to break the ice cubes loose from the tray. The device has been found to be operative with so little force as to permit its use and operation by a fairly small child.

It is to be understood that the forms of the invention herewith shown and described are to be taken as preferred examples of the same and that various changes in the shape, size and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the subjoined claims.

I'ciaimr 1. An ice. cube trarccrnprising a. reccntacle.,c grid structure arranged in said receptacle and comprising a substantially vertical longitudinal separator formedof a. plurality of sections; riv otally connected .formovement. the vertical; plane of said separator, and. a. plurality of tran verse sections connected for relative movement; with respect to said longitudinal. sections, a pa rof normally aligned links, means connected tnthe. remote ends of said linkst transmit a down ward force, to the adjacent ends. of therecentaclc and thus generate. an upward reaction tending to swing the remote longitudinal sections wardly to. pivot said longitudinal sections with respect to each other upon movemen Gill -1.6mm?! ends of said links. toward each other, and means. for efiecting movement of the inncr ends. of said. links. toward each other.

2.. An ice cube tray comp isin a. rec p acle, a grid structure arranged in said receptacle and comprising av substantially vertical. lon itud n l separator formed of a plurality of sections piv-i otally connected for movement in the vertical i. p a e. said separator, and a plural ty of ransverse sections connec ed for rela ve move en with respect to said longitudinal sections, a. pair; of normally aligned links, means; ccrinected to the remote ends of said links to transmita downward force to the adjacent ends of the receptacle and thus gen ra e n upward re ction tendin to swing theremotelongitudinal sections upwardly to pivot said lon itudinal Sections with respect to each other upon movement of the inner ends'of said links toward each other, and; lever means for effecting movement of the, inner ends of said links toward each other andcon structed and arranged t6 provide a relatively great initial leverage ratio followed by a relatively lower leverage ratio,

3. An ice cube tray comprising a receptacle, a. grid structure arranged in said receptacle and comprising a substantially vertical longitudinal separator formed of a plurality oisections pivots ally connected for movement in the vertical plane of said separator, and a plurality of transverse sections connected for relative movement with respect to said longitudinal sections, a pair of normally aligned links, means connected to the remote ends of said links to transmit a downward force to the adjacent ends of the receptacle and thus generate an upward reaction tending to swing the remote longitudinal sections upwardly to pivot said longitudinal sections with respect to each other upon movement of the inner ends of said links toward each other, a pair of connecting links, a pin pivotally connecting one end of each of said pair of links to the inner end of one of said first named links, the other ends of the links of said pair having slots therein, a pin extending through said slots and through the inner end of the other of said first named links, a handle lever normally substantially horizontally arranged and pivotally mounted adjacent one end on said first named pin, a pair of motion transmitting links each having one end connected to said second named pin, and pins connecting the other ends of said last named pair of links to said end of said lever, all of said pins lying substantially in a horizontal plane when said lever is in normal position.

4. An ice cube tray comprising a receptacle, a grid structure arranged in said receptacle and comprising a substantially vertical longitudinal separator formed of a plurality of sections pivotally connected for movement in the vertical plane of said separator, and a plurality of transverse sections connected for relative movement with respect to said longitudinal sections, a pair of normally horizontal aligned links having their adjacent ends spaced from each other, a bell crank lever pivotally connected to each of the remote longitudinal sections and provided with an outstanding arm overhanging the upper edge of the adjacent end of said receptacle, each bell crank lever having a depending arm pivotally connected to the adjacent outer end of the adjacent link whereby movement of the inner ends of said links toward each other will swing the first named ends of said bell crank levers downwardly and transmit an upward reaction to the remote longitudinal sections to swing said longitudinal sections about their pivots, and lever means for efi'ecting movement of the inner ends of said links toward each other.

5. An ice cube tray comprising a receptacle, a grid structure in said receptacle formed of separate aligned vertical longitudinal sections and a plurality of substantially vertical transverse sections, connecting means between adjacent longitudinal sections, each such means having a portion connected to one end of one longitudinal section and extending over and pivotally connected to the upper extremity of the adjacent end of the adjacent longitudinal section, each transverse section having an opening receiving the associated connecting means, and means for swinging said longitudinal sections upwardly about their pivots, the adjacent ends of said longitudinal sections being constructed and arranged to cause each transverse section to assume a position substantially bisecting the angle between the adjacent ends of the adjacent longitudinal sections upon swinging movement thereof to a predetermined extent, to separate the ice cubes from the grid structure and from said tray.

6. An ice cube tray comprising a receptacle, a grid structure in said receptacle formed of a plurality of separate aligned vertically disposed longitudinal sections and a plurality of substantially vertically disposed transverse sections, connecting means between adjacent longitudinal sections, each such means having a portion connected to one end of one longitudinal section and extending over and pivotally connected to the adjacent end of the adjacent longitudinal section at the upper extremity thereof, each connecting means having a reduced portion and each transverse section having an opening receiving such reduced portion to loosely support said transverse section, and means for swinging said longitudinal sections upwardly about their pivots, the adjacent ends of said longitudinal sections being constructed and arranged to cause each transverse section to assume a position substantially bisecting the angle between the adjacent ends of the adjacent longitudinal sections upon swinging movement thereof to predetermined extent to separate the ice cubes from the grid structure and from said tray, each connecting means extending beyond its pivotal connection to form a portion relatively movable over the face of the associated longitudinal section to assist in separating ice cubes from the latter. LOGAN L. MALLARD.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 493,729 June Mar. 21, 1893 852,608 Matthews May 7, 1907 2,011,849 'Chilton Aug. 20, 1935 2,031,812 Barrett et al. Feb. 25, 1936 2,035,543 Gaugler Mar. 31, 1936 2,037,520 Anderson Apr. 14, 1936 2,069,195 Chilton Feb. 2, 1937 2,110,511 Rudd Mar. 8, 1938 2,147,495 Miner Feb. 14, 1939 

